Standing beneath the steeple, playing in the cornfields, learning to be a pastor while trying to faithfully preach the Good News, and the church who loves me anyway.

Once Upon a Time?

A sermon preached on January 3, 2010 (in celebration of Epiphany) using Matthew 2:1-12

I’m sure I’m not the only one, but this time of year always leads me on a personal self-improvement campaign. Something about finishing up an old year that maybe wasn’t as great as I think it could’ve been, and starting a brand new year that is like a perfectly clean slate. I’ve purged things from my house, from my refrigerator, and from my life. I’ve told myself that 2010 will be the best year I’ve ever seen because this will be the year that I: do another triathlon, learn how to relax, resume quilting, give myself more fully away, be a better wife, be a healthier pastor, get published in something with a broad reader base, and quit carrying my whole life in my car. (Among other things). I’ve made resolutions about everything from keeping fresh flowers on my desk to cooking more meals at home to finally finishing knitting projects.

This is such a widespread phenomenon– even stores know of our intentions. If you happen to walk through stores this time of year, you will find that stores cleverly put certain items on sale, as if they can somehow increase our resolve to eat better, get more organized, and get more out of life. This time of year, the things that are on sale are exercise equipment, tennis shoes, organizational boxes, gadgets that will make our lives easier/better/more fashionable, and fruits and vegetables. Gym memberships are cheaper than they will ever be. And somehow, we all seem to subscribe to what has become a mantra for our society: new year, new you! (The fact that we’ve been doing this as long as we’ve been alive doesn’t seem to stop us. As Mark Twain says, “New Year’s Day… now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.”

I’ve been thinking about this self improvement campaign that we embark upon year after year, and I wonder why it’s universally appealing. I’ve never heard anyone say, “Gosh, everything went just exactly as it should’ve last year. I hope this year is exactly like last one. I love my spouse, my car, my house. I’m fit as I want to be, and organized as anyone should be, and I love everything about my life.” No, we don’t say those things.

Somehow we’re all restless, in one way or another. And so we go on quests, seeking for the things that we think will fill us up.

Perhaps the most famous seekers in the Christian world are in our story today. More often than not, we stick the wisemen in with the Christmas story– as if somehow they are a part of a cast of characters that make Christmas for us. In bustling churches filled with kids, they make a nice addition to round out a Christmas pageant. While they make great characters in Christmas pageants, we usually don’t give them much thought past that.

In scholastic circles, when they are thought of, the wisemen don’t seem to be well thought of. Many commentaries say that they arrived at the manger only because they were trying to solve an astrological problem. I guess that isn’t a terrible thought, because that’s what they were: watchers. They watched the heavens for signs.

What bugs me is the notion that they happened upon the Christ child accidentally, as if they were simply following a star, and whoops– hey! There’s a baby in a manger. I don’t buy it. I think instead that they were on a quest of a much greater importanace: they were seeking truth. Perhaps, knowing what we know– we might even say they were seeking The Truth. If they were just wondering what was causing the star to shine so brightly, I don’t think they would have come prepared with costly gifts. One of the things that distinguished the wisemen from the rest of the world is that they could read. They weren’t Jewish (and in fact are noted in some circles as the first gentiles to recognize the coming of the messiah), but it’s likely that they would have read the prophecies in places like Micah and Isaiah–and in fact they even quote one to Herod.

Here’s my guess about the wisemen: they read the prophecies, and they wondered if it could be true. Could a branch spring up from David’s line that would be a new sort of ruler? Is it possible that the words, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”
might really be true? If there had been something such as “writing it off as a work expense” back then, I think that’s what the wisemen were doing. They could blame the trip on work, but at the heart of their quest was a much more personal inquiry. They wanted to see the Christ child: wanted to lay their hands on him and decide if he had any special “powers”, wanted to see just what kind of king this tiny babe might turn out to be. And even more than that, if all of it were true, wanted to know if his lordship would rule even their star-guided, not Jewish world.

I love the image that folks were actually seeking Christ. I spend a lot of time talking about the way that God seeks and finds us, and how that action is always initiated by God. And while that’s still where I firmly stand, I think there’s something really incredible about people who want to know Christ so badly that they take a few tentative steps on their own.

I’m sure we’ve all played hide and seek. We all talk about wanting to be the hiders, but if we are honest, it’s a lot more fun to be the seekers. The thing about hiding is that it’s pretty boring waiting to be found.

As Christians though, lots of us are pretty darn comfortable knowing that God is coming to find us. And maybe that’s enough. But how incredible would it be for us to be so excited about our relationship with Christ that we just couldn’t stand the waiting anymore, and just had to take a few steps toward Christ?

Maybe that sounded like a motivational speech to you. And maybe like the great motivational speeches of the world, that was enough to light a small fire in you– or at least create a little spark. If so, great.

But perhaps the rest of us aren’t so sure. After all, as anyone who has ever read a fairy tale or a quest story knows, seeking is hard work– not for the faint-hearted. First of all, seeking is fraught with all sorts of dangers, some that you can foresee, others like quicksand that you just step in. And not only that, but sometimes the thing you find isn’t what you thought you were looking for. And sometimes, what you find on your quest changes your whole life– and it’s no easy task to let something change your whole life and being.

This Sunday is the day when we’re celebrating Epiphany. Epiphany really happens on January 6th, 12 days after Christmas– but this year that happens not to be on a Sunday.

If you have never heard that word before, or can’t remember anything about it, let me tell you what I know. The term epiphany means “to show” or “to make known” or even “to reveal.” In Western churches, it remembers the coming of the wise men bringing gifts to visit the Christ child, who by so doing “reveal” Jesus to the world as Lord and King.

Think about all the epiphanies you’ve ever had. If you’re not quite sure what I’m talking about, think of all those “Aha!” moments you’ve had– those times when the proverbial light bulb was suddenly lit above your head.

If I had to guess, I’d say that we have a lot more “Aha!” moments that have to do with silly things like remembering where you put your keys than we have had “Aha!” moments that have to do with God.
If we are honest, perhaps we’re not sure that God really shows himself– at least not to ordinary folks like us. We’ve never had (I don’t think) God speak to us out of a burning bush. Never has a sea parted as we stood at its shores.

So are these epiphanies something of long ago? Do epiphany stories start with “Once upon a time”?

You’ll have to answer that yourself. But here is my guess: if like the wisemen, we diligently seek The Truth, even going out of our way to find it, that God will show himself–in glorious ways. If we, like the wisemen, are prepared to have our world’s rocked by what we find, I think our quest to see the Lord will never go unfulfilled.

What is it that you’re seeking this year? To lose weight? To be more organized? To be nicer to folks? Great.

But what is your restless heart really seeking? I hope you dare to go after it, to take a few timid steps in that direction. Amen.

Charge and Benediction: Augustine of Hippo said, “God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you.” My prayer for you, especially at the beginning of this brand new year, is that you will seek after the one thing that will make your restless heart glad: Seek Christ, and to do his will. And as you do, may the Lord bless you and Keep you, may the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you, may the Lord lift his countenance to you, and give you peace, now and forever. Amen